August 26, 2015
Are you considering an FHA home loan? You’ve got plenty of options open to you, but sometimes it’s good to review those options to make sure you aren’t missing any potential avenues for savings or better opportunities.
The choice of lenders is the first thing many borrowers think of when they consider their FHA loan options. It’s perfectly reasonable to consider using the bank you currently have to work with on an FHA loan, provided that company is a participating FHA lender.
But what if your lender doesn’t offer FHA loans, or restricts their offerings to areas you aren’t currently interested in? Some borrowers want to finance condo loans, manufactured housing or mobile homes, etc. Does your lender offer loans for these purchases?
Shopping around for a new lender is always a good idea, even if you wind up going with your first choice or your existing financial institution. It pays to be an informed borrower, and you’ll learn a lot about what interest rates and terms might be available outside your current choice.
Another decision to make when considering your FHA home loan–how much of a down payment can you afford to make, and will you be purchasing any discount points to help reduce the interest rate on your loan?
Do you want to add energy efficient improvements to the home purchased with your FHA loan? The FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program can help you do so, but you’ll need to choose a lender to work with and then discuss the improvements you want to make.
Borrowers interested in 15-year mortgages instead of 30-year loans also have some talking to do with the lender–be sure to ask what the difference in interest rates and terms are for such loans–you may be surprised at the rates when you compare them.
Are you considering the early payoff of your mortgage? Remember that FHA loans don’t permit the lender to penalize you for doing so, which may be different than the terms offered by a conventional lender.
Shop around for a lender, ask a lot of questions, compare rates, and make the most well-informed lender choice you can–that’s a very good start toward your home purchase once your preparation and savings stage is passed and you are ready to buy.
There are many home loan options for veterans of the United States military, including the VA loan program. But some veterans choose the FHA home loan program instead–there are many reasons why some might choose FHA over a VA loan, and for those who are considering the option, there are some important things to remember about the FHA mortgage loan or refinance loan program.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com. It’s designed especially for real estate websites–a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those websites.
It is easy to spend a few seconds customizing the state, counties, and widget size for the tool; you can copy the code and paste it into your website with ease. Get yours today: http://www.fha.com/fha_loan_limits_widget
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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